Gators score winning run on wild pitch to win opener
Blake Gunter raced home on a one-out wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring what proved to be the winning run in Ware County’s 4-3 Region 1-AAAA victory over visiting Perry.
The Tuesday, March 17 victory stretched the Gators’ (8-7 overall, 4-0 region) winning streak to six games, while handing the Panthers (6-10, 1-3) their fourth loss in five games.
Tied at 3-all, Gunter was hit by the first pitch of the inning. He raced around to third on Garrison Joyner’s sacrifice bunt. Gunter scored on a 1-1 offering for a 4-3 lead.
Seth Suess (7 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 K, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 1 WP) allowed just two hits over the final three innings in a route-going performance. Suess needed 101 pitches to finish what he started.
Suess (1-for-3) helped himself at the plate blasting a two-run homer in the bottom of the first for a 2-0 lead. Collin Crawford (1-for-3) was hit by a 2-2 pitch to start the inning. Suess homered to left two pitches later into the wind blowing from left field to right.
Perry cut the margin in half in the second frame. A leadoff error, stolen base and wild pitch moved the runner to third. A one-out chopper plated the run slicing the deficit to 2-1.
The Gators would get the run back in the home half of the inning in taking a 3-1 advantage. Consecutive walks to Keaton Holloway and Gunter started the inning.
After a caught stealing and a fielder’s choice groundout, Joyner stole second and scored on Crawford’s opposite field single for the two-run advantage.
The Panthers responded with two runs in the third inning to tie the game at 3-apiece. Suess hit the first batter, who stole second on the ensuing pitch. Consecutive run-scoring doubles followed to knot the score. Perry was unable to capitalize on a two-out infield hit putting runners at the corners.
Ware County picked up two hits in the fifth with a leadoff single by Slade Sweat (1-for-3) and Isaiah White’s (2-for-3) two-out double following a doubleplay grounder.
A leadoff walk to Holloway led to an empty inning in the sixth.
Perry put the tying run on in the top of the seventh getting a two-out hit off Suess. The threat ended one pitch later with an infield pop.
